Unusual Dreams
by Waterpelt
Summary: Lilypaw, a shecat apprentice, has been having strange dreams. Will a friendship be broken because of them? What will Lilypaw do to find out what they mean? My first fic!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Waterpelt here! I would just like to say, this is my first fanfic so be nice. Reviews are for my story and my story ONLY, ok? Ok. **

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**Chapter One

_The shining silver moon shone down_ through the apprentices' den, bathing the furry sleeping bodies with a white silvery mist. A young apprentice stirred uncomfortably in her sleep, unknown to the other soundly sleeping apprentices. The she-cat apprentice was squirming, dreaming a dream so real she could feel it.

D**ark clouds blocked the moon threateningly, turning the sky a menacing black. She hastily scampered behind a tall, looming bush as it began to rain--huge, watery raindrops the size of gray pebbles. She mewed pitifully, her yellowish coat beginning to get soaked to the skin. Suddenly the blackness closed her in, and she could see no longer. Just before the night swallowed her, however, a streak of bright yellow thunder lit up a piece of the barren landscape. She saw a mattered and bleeding clump of wavy, light brown fur, staggering and limping, yowling for help that would never come. She gasped, and then--saw no more.**

Lilypaw jolted out of her dream unexpectedly, panting heavily. Her heart was thudding like a mouse's, and she was sweating as if she'd just jumped out of a puddle.

"Whatsa . . ?" A grumpy white tom, Whitepaw, who was sleeping a few fox-lengths next to her, mumbled. He half-opened a sleepy eye and muttered, "Lilypaw, what are you doing? I was just catching a plump, fat vole . . ."

Another indignant voice rose out: "What in StarClan's name happened? Is that your fear-scent I'm smelling, Lilypaw?" It was Hailpaw--a tom apprentice that Lilypaw was none too fond of. "Ugh, don't tell me you had those disturbing dreams again! Leave it to you to wake us up every single night . . ."

Lilypaw said nothing, just stared at her white paws in obvious embarrassment. It seemed that Lilypaw was the only apprentice with "loud"--as Hailpaw so clearly described--dreams." I. . . I'm sorry," she whispered to her paws.

"What did you just say?" Hailpaw meowed irritably. "Really, Lilypaw. You are so quiet in real life, but in your dreams you're as loud as a fighting badger!"

At this remark, some apprentices smirked along with Hailpaw. Lilypaw's fur bristled, but she was in no mood to fight. Besides, she was used by Hailpaw's taunts by now; after all, he had teased her since they were kits, for reasons unknown to Lilypaw.

Hailpaw grumbled some more in his usual grumpy way but soon fell back into a sound, motionless sleep. The other apprentices followed suit, but Lilypaw was sound awake. She didn't want to risk dreaming again, just in case Hailpaw might tease her again . . . and not just because of that. Lilypaw didn't know what the dream meant--but she did know one thing . . .

She made herself stand up in four paws, and made her way through the ferns that protected the apprentices' den. She peeked out and saw the camp stand still with the silver moon bathing everything in a delicate shade of silver. Just to be sure, she sniffed to see if any danger was present. She couldn't bear to think what they would to her if they found out she'd been sneaking out of the apprentices' den at midnight. No threat could be detected. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lilypaw stepped out from the den and trotted over to the overgrown tree by the edge of the ThunderClan camp. That was her "secret place"--where she came to think, to daydream, to just be alone. Lilypaw only came out when the moon was up, if she couldn't sleep or if she had a puzzle to figure out--like now.

Lilypaw sat down at the tree's roots and breathed in the sweet scent of flowers--lilies, to be exact. But she didn't think of that for long. Lilypaw shuddered. In her dream, she had passed out; that much she knew. But before that, didn't a streak of loud lightning light up the barren landscape? And then she'd seen a cat--an apprentice, perhaps?--bleeding and limping through a clump of wavy light brown fur . . . Lilypaw gasped as realization hit her. She felt as if someone had hit her in the head with a stiff-necked rabbit. Only one cat, out of all the apprentices, warriors, queens, elders, and kits, had that wavy light brown fur. Only one cat . . . and that would be Brownpaw, the medicine cat's apprentice.

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**Yeah, right now it's pretty boring, I guess this is a sort of prologue. Well, R&R!**  



	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is, Chapter Two. **

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**Chapter Two

_It was a sunny and warm_ day, perfect for hunting. Sunlight peeked in through the trees overhead, warming waking cats.

"Wake up, Lilypaw!" Sunpaw meowed loudly, nudging her friend none-too-gently. "Come on! All the prey will be sleeping in their dens by the time you wake up! It's time for training. And you know how our mentors get when we're not punctual!"

Without another mew Sunpaw bounded out of the den. Lilypaw sat up and stretched her back legs. She wasn't really sleeping, just pretending to. How could she, after dreaming that horrible nightmare? After much thinking last night about the dream, though, Lilypaw assured herself that that was all it was--just a dream. After all, how many apprentices get dreams from StarClan? Not many. Yes, Lilypaw assured herself, nothing important, right? Nothing to worry your tail over, in Sunpaw's words.

Still trying to wake up, Lilypaw stepped out into the fresh morning sunlight. She shook herself awake and ran over to the grassy clearing to meet her mentor, Whitestripe, who was a grey tom with white stripes. He could be cross at times, but for a good reason. The tom was a fine mentor, and Lilypaw was learning quite a lot from him. With him was Rubyfur, ThunderClan's deputy--Sunpaw's brilliant reddish mentor. Lilypaw thought that the only reason that Violetstar had made Rubyfur Sunpaw's mentor was because he had a lot of patience, which was something that you needed with Sunpaw.

On her way to her mentor, Lilypaw saw Brownpaw weaving her way through the tunnel of ferns--Goldheart (the medicine cat)'s den. Lilypaw was about to quickly turn her head when Brownpaw sensed Lilypaw watching her. She looked over at her and meowed a friendly greeting, but Lilypaw didn't hear her. Quickly she avoided the apprentice's amber eyes and turned away from her. She didn't know how Brownpaw would be feeling at her actions and she felt guilty, but she just couldn't stand to look at her without thinking, _Soon you'll be bleeding, Brownpaw . . . bleeding and limping . . . bleeding crimson blood . . . _

Lilypaw tried to shake these ugly thoughts from her head as she mewed, "Hi, Whitestripe," trying to make her mew light and cheery, as apprentices mostly sound. _Of course MOST apprentices don't have bloody dreams in which their friends are probably dying in_, Lilypaw thought dryly. She skidded to a jolt in front of her mentor and looked up at him expectantly.

"Ready for your training?" he meowed, immediately going down to business. "Last time we practiced your stalking rabbits and mice. Your mice stalk is wonderful, but your rabbit stalk needs a bit of improving."

Lilypaw nodded, trying to remember as much as she could in order to do it right. As Whitestripe demonstrated the rabbit stalk, Lilypaw couldn't help but be distracted. She just couldn't concentrate on what the tom was showing her; her thoughts were all muddled up because of the nightmare . . .

"Okay, now you try it." Lilypaw jumped out of her thought storm, looking at Whitestripe in alarm. What did he want her to do? Gulping in embarrassment, Lilypaw guessed he wanted her to try the rabbit stalk. She immediately fell into the right positions (at least she thought so). She was about to pounce on an imaginary rabbit when Whitestripe mewed sharply, "No, NO, Lilypaw! What have I told you? Have you been paying attention today? Aren't apprentices supposed to listen to their mentors?" Lilypaw immediately sat up straight and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Whitestripe! I promise I'll listen to you from now on!" Whitestripe's hard gaze softened and Lilypaw let out an inner sigh of relief.

They continued the lesson without further disturbance. Lilypaw payed attention mostly because she had to take her mind off the dream. The next time Whitestripe asked Lilypaw to try out the rabbit stalk, Lilypaw did it perfectly. She could see her mentor was surprised. "Well done," he meowed. "You learn fast."

It was sunset by the time Whitestripe had showed her other useful prey stalks. Lilypaw was tired as she said her goodbyes to her mentor. The sun was just sinking behind the mountains, sending pink and red stripes across the darkening sky._ Blood-red stripes,_ Lilypaw thought, immediately remembering the blood in her nightmare.

Shaking herself up she started toward the fresh-kill pile. It was plenty, and Lilypaw, being hungry after the hard day's work, grabbed a plump squirrel. She padded over to eat with Sunpaw and Dottedpaw, who were gossiping about one thing or the other. Suddenly someone's bristling fur shot straight in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She saw an angry face shoved into hers', and an angry voice mewing, "Come with me, Lilypaw! You have some explaining to do!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I dunno where this story takes place, probably before Firestar's time. Just saying that to not confuse anyone!**

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**Chapter Three 

_Lilypaw was cornered, trapped._

_Brownpaw was_ in front of her, fur bristling. They were in the empty apprentices' den; all of the other apprentices were busy eating their evening meal.

Neither cat said anything. Then Brownpaw meowed in an icy tone, "Lilypaw, do you know why I brought you here?"

Lilypaw fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um . . . you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," Brownpaw mewed dangerously. Her amber eyes, hard as ever, bore into Lilypaw's blue ones. "Do you know why?"

Lilypaw said nothing. She looked away in embarrassment.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" The question was unexpectedly soft.

"You've noticed?" Lilypaw muttered, avoiding her eyes.

"Of COURSE I've noticed, Lilypaw!" Brownpaw practically yowled, her whiskers twitching in frustration. Lilypaw flinched, but Brownpaw was not done yet. "You've been ignoring me the whole day. You don't answer my calls, you don't eat with me, and you don't even look at me!" Lilypaw flinched again. Brownpaw appeared not to notice. "What's wrong? Have I done something to madden you? If I have, then tell me!" At this point Lilypaw felt like crying. She didn't want to tell Brownpaw of the dream; she might think it not true and that she was just trying to scare her. Brownpaw was a fiercely proud she-cat.

Brownpaw rambled on. "I don't get it, Lilypaw, I just don't. I thought we were . . . friends." Her voice dropped considerably at the last words. She waited impatiently for Lilypaw to say something, _anything_ that might prove her wrong. But Lilypaw stayed silent. She thought if she spoke, emotions would explode and she'd cry.

Heartbeats passed. Finally, Lilypaw muttered, "I'm sorry, Brownpaw."

"'Sorry' doesn't cut it!" This time, Brownpaw _did_ yowl.

Before she could continue, however, Lilypaw fled. She couldn't take it anymore. She barreled past Brownpaw, not listening to her yowls of protest, and flew away from the den.

She ran and ran, past trees and rocks, across grasses and puddles. Sticks and leaves rushed past her face, occasionally hitting her hard. She didn't know where she was going, didn't care. Finally she stopped, her breath coming in short gasps. She calmed down by a leafy bush; not caring that it was almost night-time and that cats would be worrying about her.

When she could think clearly, her thoughts were panicked and not making sense. _What have I done?_ she thought, a sickening feeling of dread arising in her stomach. _Brownpaw will never speak to me again. I bet that every cat could hear our little disaster in the whole camp, and I'll be made fun of by Hailpaw. Oh, StarClan, what in the world have I done?_ Lilypaw felt like yowling her heart out to the forest, but she was noticeably close to RiverClan's borders and was afraid that some patrol or other would hear her, so she just mourned quietly inside, afraid and alone of returning back to ThunderClan camp.

After what seemed like moons, Lilypaw noticed that Silverpelt was beginning stretch out over the darkening sky. With a sigh of regret, she pushed to her paws, realizing that, hurt feelings or not, she would have to return to her camp quite soon or an unneeded crisis would break out and Violetstar would send out unnecessary searching patrols. She wouldn't want that.

Lilypaw hurried back with a plan: she would just ignore Hailpaw and Brownpaw for as long as it was needed, and hopefully they'd get the message and do the same . . . even though she doubted they would.

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**Well . . . a broken friendship. How sad! Not much happens here, but the next chapter will make more sense.**  



	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Changed Swayfur's name to Pinefur, which I think is better. Well, R&R!  
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**Chapter Four

_"Lilypaw! Where in StarClan's name have_ you been! Don't you dare do that again!" Rosepelt's angry mew called out to Lilypaw as she trudged into the camp.

Other angry cats scolded Lilypaw, but she was half-listening to them. Her tail drooping sadly, she padded in through the apprentices' den without looking at anyone or answering anything.

Inside, she didn't know whether Hailpaw talked to her or not; she was out like a light, choosing a deserted corner of the den, turning her back to every cat's questioning looks. She expected and wanted an undisturbed sleep which she'd be thankful for, but no--another dream unwillingly engulfed her.

**She was in Fourtrees. The moon was shining above her, turning her pelt a silvery color. Lilypaw looked up to the black, endless sky, recognizing the familiar glow of Silverpelt. Instead of feeling secure, her emotions were angry, unfeeling. She cried out into the empty night, "Why, StarClan, why, are you sending me dreams? Brownpaw's and my friendship has been torn apart because of that. Why, StarClan, why?" She expected no answer and was surprised when she felt a soothing voice in her trembling ear, "Do not fear, young one. All will be made clear soon. Beware of a cat that does not appear. Use this knowledge to save your friend." Lilypaw scrambled around, trying to see where the voice's owner was. She saw nothing, and before she could question further . . .**

. . . She woke up. Dawn was just appearing in the cloudless sky. She looked around madly, still a little hazy because of her dream. All the apprentices were silent, occasionally snoring. Lilypaw was the only one awake. She shook her head in confusion. What did the dream mean? It was so puzzling. _Well, maybe it doesn't mean anything_, Lilypaw thought. _Maybe I had too much fresh-kill_...But then she remembered she didn't eat anything the night before._ Well, then, I blame it on going to sleep late yesterday._

Lilypaw thought that was a reasonable excuse. Suddenly, though, she was just tired of it all. Tired of making excuses, tired of pretending that her dreams were meaningless. She knew, just knew, that the dream was important. Something deep inside her urged her that it was more important that she thought possible.

She stared into space, unaware that some apprentices were beginning to wake up. "Beware of a cat that does not appear . . ." she whispered, echoing the strange prophecy. Well, then, if this cat didn't appear, then what threat could it be? "Use this knowledge to save your friend." What friend? Brownpaw? Lilypaw felt like laughing dryly. Their friendship had been torn mercilessly apart. Still, she knew it had to be her, because of her first dream. And what did the "cat who does not appear" have to do with a medicine cat's apprentice?

"Earth to Lilypaw, earth to Lilypaw," Palepaw mewed, shaking her paw in front of Lilypaw's face. "Hello-o-o-o, is someone there? You've been staring into space for about twenty seconds without stopping as if trying to pinpoint a mouse's scent."

"Uh . . . what?" Lilypaw said dumbly. Then she realized that it was sunrise and apprentices were waking up. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just . . . thinking for a moment there," she meowed, hoping that Palepaw would believe her. Fortunately, Palepaw nodded and whisked out of the den, no doubt to see her fierce mentor, Jaguarclaw. Lilypaw sighed in relief.

She stretched, thinking what Whitestripe would teach her today. Dreams or not, she had to continue her training, no matter what. Lilypaw knew it was most important that she became a warrior.

Feeling unusually light and cheery, Lilypaw stepped out of the den. The sky was cloudless; another perfect day, except for the occasional gust of cold breeze passing by, reminding her that leaf-fall was not far away.

She looked around camp, feeling strangely relieved that Clan life was the same. Over outside the nursery Midnightheart, a lean, black queen, was playing with her four kits. The father, Pinefur, looked at his mate and kits, a deep purr erupting from his chest that was so loud Lilypaw could hear him all the way across camp. Lilypaw couldn't help but purr herself.

She made a quick decision to drop off to visit the kits before beginning her training. She bounded happily over to the nursery, suddenly excited to see the cats that would someday, one of them, probably be her apprentice.

"Hello, Midnightheart," she purred, licking the queen's shoulder in respect. "How are your kits? Have you named them yet?"

The black queen purred before answering, "Why, yes. This one here, that one, will be Lightkit because he's so light. The other one with the black stripes will be Blackkit. Now, you see that one over there--?"

Lilypaw stopped paying attention, suddenly aware that something was amiss about the camp.

"Excuse me, Midnightheart," she mewed carefully, "But is Clawstorm in dawn patrol?"

Midnightheart cocked an ear. "Actually, no. I didn't hear his name being called."

"Okay . . . thanks, Midnightheart."

The queen looked puzzled that Lilypaw was going so soon. _Ah well, _Lilypaw thought, _I'll explain later._

Right now, she had more interesting things to do and find out.

Like why Clawstorm was going out of camp in such a _hesitant _and _suspicious _way.


	5. ThunderClan Allegiances

**A/N: AnimeKitsumePrincess pointed out that Sunpaw wasn't in the allegiances, so I re-wrote it. Also I have to admit that Swayfur was a stupid name, so I changed him to Pinefur. Sorry for the inconveniance!**

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ThunderClan**

_**Leader**_

Violetstar--grey-blue big she-cat with darker lines

** Apprentic**e,** Hailpaw**

_**Deputy**_

Rubyfur--reddish coated tom

** Apprentice, Sunpaw**

_**Medicine Cat**_

Goldheart--yellow-orange she-cat

** Apprentice, Brownpaw **

_**Warriors**_

**Steelfur**--silvery white tom

** Apprentice, Whitepaw  
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**Fastwind**--swift, fast sharp she-cat with black coat

** Apprentice, Dottedpaw**

**Whitestripe**--grey tom with white stripes

** Apprentice, Lilypaw**

**Jaguarclaw**--sandy yellow she-cat with short but sharp claws

** Apprentice, Palepaw**

**Spottedbelly**--brown tom with spotted black belly

**Smokeheart**--smoky-grey tom

**Clawstorm**--proud she-cat with long claws

**Sparkeyes**--she-cat with sparkly eyes

**Pinefur**-tom with "prickly" fur

_**Apprentices**_

**Hailpaw**--grey tom with white spots

**Moonpaw**--energetic silver she-cat

**Whitepaw**—completely white tom

**Dottedpaw**--tom with different kinds of spots

**Lilypaw**--gentle yellowish she-cat

**Palepaw**--shy she-cat with pale yellow coat

**Sunpaw**--orange-red she-cat

_**Queens**_

**Flowingstream**--big she-cat with long silvery blueish fur

**Rosepelt**--gentle rose-colored she-cat

**Midnightheart**--jet black she-cat

_**Elders**_

**Halfclaw**--grey-brown tom with cut claws

**Ashcoat**--spotted ashy tom

**Sharpnose**--dull-blue colored tom

**White-eye-**-blind she-cat with white milky eyes


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: By the way, I forgot to put Moonpaw's mentor in the allegiances in the last chapter (I suck at writing allegiances!) It's Spottedbelly. Now, I've decided to write back to my reviewers, so here goes: **To Iceshadow: **Look, I made it clear that reviews were ONLY for my story, not to discuss my feeling about swearing or to scold me for my so-called "flames." So stop it!**To Streamheart: **You have almost NO faves, so the part about my story not being one of yours was predictable. I'll have as many chapters as I need. **To Dewfrost: **thanx for reviewing my story, not my personality. **To EVERYONE:** Can you be a bit more specific on what you like/don't like about my fic? All you're saying is "nice fic" and "update soon" and "good story"...It'll be really helpful if you are a bit more specific! Now, on to the story.**

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**Chapter Five

_Lilypaw was beginning to get very_ tired.

It took her about forever to convince Whitestripe that she wasn't feeling good enough for her training. Lilypaw hated to lie to her wonderful mentor, but what choice did she have? When no one was looking, Lilypaw had snuck out of camp to follow . . . Clawstorm.

Lilypaw flinched as she stepped on a sharp rock, and paused to lick the paw that it had hurt. She thought, at the time, that by following Clawstorm to wherever she was going she would find out something deep and secret. No cat in ThunderClan really trusted Clawstorm, because of her fierce name and because, in her past, her parents, which were rogues, had abandoned her by the edge of the foul-smelling Thunderpath. The only reason that Violetstar had let her in ThunderClan was because she was a fair leader and that they needed more warriors. Still, Lilypaw couldn't help thinking that she had some sort of connection to the prophecy, so out of curiosity she had followed her, through towering trees and tall grasses and huge puddles.

Now, though, Lilypaw couldn't help wishing she had just minded her own business. All Clawstorm ever did was walk, walk, walk, and the only thing that kept Lilypaw from not returning to camp was the alert way she was doing it. She walked sort of carefully, as if trying to figure something out. Lilypaw made sure to stay a couple of fox-lengths behind her, and knew that Whitestripe would have praised her on her stalking. She looked up at the sky; not a cloud was to be seen, and sunhigh was approaching. What she would give to be back in camp!

Finally, just about when Lilypaw was at the point of collapsing from tiredness, she noticed Clawstorm was headed for ShadowClan territory. Lilypaw felt her whiskers twitch in tension and her heart rate quickening. Was Clawstorm planning something with ShadowClan?

Lilypaw almost fainted of excitement when Clawstorm stopped, right beside the ShadowClan border, underneath a huge, leafy tree that offered lots of shade. Lilypaw hid by a thick bush and shuddered, not because she was cold, more out of the secret she was about to discover . . .

"Darkfur?" Lilypaw jumped at Clawstorm's tone of voice; it was soft, nervous, which was most unlike her. She peeked around her hiding place and saw Clawstorm stand still as stone, as if waiting for something.

"I'm here," meowed a gruff, low voice. Lilypaw stepped back in astonishment as a large black tom, huge and majestic, stepped out of a bush. Lilypaw recognized the smell immediately. _ShadowClan_! she though, instinctively unsheathing her claws. Was there going to be a fight?

She saw no sign of that, however. "Oh, Darkfur," Lilypaw heard Clawstorm mew in a soft, silvery voice. Lilypaw saw them greet each other by affectionately licking each other's muzzles.

Lilypaw could've sworn her heart had stopped beating. What in StarClan's name was Clawstorm _doing_?

"I've missed you," Lilypaw heard Darkfur meow. "Why aren't you here more often?"

Pausing between licks, Clawstorm responded, "Ever since Fastwind scented foxes living in our territory, there's been more patrols and I've been awfully busy."

Lilypaw watched in a sort of disgusted fascination as the two cats continued licking and exchanging news. How long has Clawstorm kept this horrid secret? Why hadn't any cat suspected her? Lilypaw's thoughts swam across her head, none of them making sense. This was a horrible mistake. She never intended to stumble upon this . . . this . . . _disgrace_! Besides, Lilypaw thought that any tom to like Clawstorm would have to be mad.

Lilypaw forced her ears to pay attention to the two cats. She was relieved to see that Clawstorm never said anything revealing about her clan, and neither did Darkfur. A sudden thought occurred to Lilypaw: was Clawstorm faking to love this ShadowClan tom to spy on ShadowClan, or was Darkfur trying to weasel his way into ThunderClan's secrets through Clawstorm? It had always been well-known that ThunderClan and ShadowClan were never friendly towards each other. Her fur bristled as she realized her theories were not, could not, be true; the two cats showed too much affection for each other. One part of Lilypaw was disgusted about the way they were acting and the other part guilty to be spying.

Lilypaw's muscles tensed as Clawstorm and Darkfur continued talking as if they were in the same clan. Her whiskers twitched in anger as she fully registered what she was seeing. How dare Clawstorm betray her own loyal clan? Had she no respect for the Warrior Code? This sort of behavior could not be tolerated! Lilypaw couldn't help but smile at the way she was thinking; like a true warrior indeed! Whitestripe would have been proud.

Then, Lilypaw made a huge mistake.

She leaned forward in an attempt to hear them better . . .

. . . And carelessly stepped on a twig.

CRACK!

The sound echoed loudly throughout the clearing. Darkfur and Clawstorm's heads snapped up at the sound and saw Lilypaw, caught red-pawed, looking at them with frightened and confused eyes. Clawstorm's eyes widened in shock and anger in being discovered, and Darkfur's mouth curled in a cry of surprise.

Lilypaw was out of there in a flash. Not even looking back to see if they were following her, she ran, heading for the safety of the camp.

"Tell of this to no one!" She heard Darkfur's threatning yowls, and suddenly felt herself shiver even though the day was unusually warm and sunny.

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**A/N: This wasn't really about the prophecy, and it gets Lilypaw nowhere to figuring it out, but at least it's interesting...Tell me what you think! Oh, by the way: "red-pawed" means "red-handed"; it didn't seem right to put in "red-handed" when they have no hands. Review!**  



	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wow . . . haven't updated this fic in like forever, sorry! Now, to my wonderful reviewers: **To Krissy25: **"Jumps around too much"? Would you care to explain that, please? **To Kelp and Feather: **I forgot to add Brownpaw to the Allegiances? Bleh, I'm awful at writing Allegiances...just pretend she's there. **To Firey: **Yikes! Long time no write! Lol. thanx for the long review, it was awesome help. I'm just wondering, why don't you have an account? I'd love to see your stories! Thanks for the 3 cookies, too! **To Glacierclaw: **Hmm, seems you had a bad day. Okay, you can write "nasty things" about my story if you want; just make sure to be specific! Btw: I know you're a retard, but what am I? **To Everbody: **Plz continue reviewing!...On with the chapter!**

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**Chapter Six

_Lilypaw was panting heavily, her sides_ heaving as she strutted back from her little . . . adventure.

"Where've _you_ been?" Lilypaw heard a mocking tone come from behind her as she tried without success to rid herself of the twigs and leaves that seemed to nestle in her fur. She knew who it was without turning around. "Hailpaw, what do you want?" she grumbled, turning her head slightly to look at him.

"Oh, _nothing_," he smirked, wrapping his tail around his paws in complete innocence. "Just wondering why you _lied _to your mentor so you could _sneak_ out of camp."

Lilypaw's ears started to burn fiercely, and she desperately yearned to claw that smug smile off the little rodent's face. She turned to face him fully and growled, "Back off, Hailpaw, or you'll regret it!"

Lilypaw was surprised at her tone of meow, and Hailpaw looked taken aback. He recovered quickly, though. "_Make _me," he mewed icily, with a hint of a grin at the corner of his lips. _She's finally fighting back, eh?_ he thought with satisfaction. _Took her long enough._

With a low hiss she growled, "Say that one more time and you'll get scarred for life!" She could feel the anger burning in her, bubbling and spitting out smoke. Other apprentices were beginning to form a circle around them, their eyes wide with excitement and tension. Someone said, "Is that really Lilypaw? Didn't know she had the guts to do that!" Lilypaw knew it was Sunpaw.

"_Make_ me," he mewed without hesitation. He obviously thought it was an empty threat.

It all happened so fast, witnesses would say it was all a blur. Lilypaw sprang at Hailpaw unexpectedly, raking her claws in the completely clueless tom's spine. Hailpaw yowled in pain and surprise, and immediately started fighting back. He jumped at her, holding her down with his front paws, and bit her shoulder. Lilypaw yowled a shrill scream and tried to claw his underbelly . . .

"Stop!" The cry was so loud and clear, Lilypaw and Hailpaw stopped mid-fight. They laid there awkwardly, a mass of fur and claws. Right there, a huge, lean she-cat with magnificent gray-blue fur and slender form, piercing them with her icy blue eyes, stood Violetstar, respected leader of all ThunderClan. For a second her eyes bore into the two apprentices, and they shivered at her icy gaze.

"Break it up," she said with surprising calmness. Lilypaw and Hailpaw immediately scrambled off each other hastily, not looking at one another. Lilypaw could feel her face burning with embarrassment. _What have I gotten myself into? I'm such a mouse-brain!_

For a moment no cat said anything. Then Violetstar mewed, "Hailpaw, I am extremely disappointed in you. As my apprentice I expect you to be a role model for the younger apprentices." Hailpaw averted his eyes. "Lilypaw," she continued, turning her unwavering gaze to her, "I thought you told Whitestripe you were too sick to train. Now I am not so sure, seeing your fighting moves." Lilypaw wanted to sink into the leaf-covered ground in shame. She tried to avoid Whitestripe's shocked gaze, who was watching them not far off. She wondered if she would be able to look him in the eyes after this.

Violetstar continued, "You two will work for the elders for the rest of today and three days afterward. That includes pulling off ticks, washing the elders themselves, and burying their dirt." Lilypaw saw Hailpaw shudder in disgust, and Lilypaw felt herself ready to throw up. "You _will_ work together with_out_ any help from other apprentices. Is that clear?" Lilypaw and Hailpaw nodded so hard their heads were ready to fall off. "Good," Violetstar meowed. "I will expect you to behave properly throughout your duty." Without another meow, Violetstar turned around and went to the fresh-kill pile, closely followed by Rubyfur.

Glad that the scolding was over, Lilypaw avoided every cat's amazed looks and ran to the elders' den with Hailpaw in her tracks. She could feel embarrassment turn her ears beet-red, and her mind was tangled in a jumble of thoughts, most of them telling her what an idiot she was.

They spent the rest of the afternoon silently. Hailpaw looked over at Lilypaw several times as if to say something, but then changed his mind. Lilypaw avoided Hailpaw completely. She felt so humiliated, so awful for her actions. Since when was she so violent? _It doesn't make any sense_, she thought grimly, as she pulled White-eye's ticks carefully out of his back.

At the end of the day, Lilypaw was about to collapse. Hailpaw was no better. It didn't help that their paws were soaked in mouse bile, which was used to pull off ticks better. Lilypaw motioned Hailpaw with her tail to follow her to a nearby stream to wash their paws.

At the stream, Lilypaw reluctantly put her paws in the ice-cold water. She cringed at the coldness that engulfed her defenseless paws. She saw Hailpaw's moon-white paws get wet, but turned away when Hailpaw noticed she was looking at him. They stood there for about four moons, not paying attention to each other and trying to ignore the other's presence. Finally, it could not get avoided any longer. Hailpaw murmured, "Lilyp-paw . . . I-I'm s-s-sorry."

Lilypaw turned her head slightly to look at him. She peeked in his brilliant gold eyes and saw he was telling the truth in its depths. Sighing she meowed, "You better be." Hailpaw looked amused by this, and unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle. Turning around fully, Lilypaw mewed in an offended tone, "What's so funny?"

Hailpaw instantly stopped. "Well . . . Well, I was just surprised that you didn't say something goody-goody-ish, like you always do." Lilypaw raised an eyebrow. "Whatever," she finally muttered.

An uncomfortable silence followed afterwards. Hailpaw was, as usual, the first to break it. "So, what were you doing out of camp? Don't try to fool me, I know you were up to something." Lilypaw flinched, and wondered if she should tell the cat she had recently most hated about her dreams and about Clawstorm and Darkfur. She heard Darkfur's shrill scream, "Tell of this to no one!" as clearly as if he was there himself. She shivered, but figured that Darkfur would probably never find out about this . . . She hoped. Finally, she gave up. What did she have to lose, anyway? "Fine. Just don't tell anyone." Hailpaw's eyes widened, realizing he was about to discover a secret. _And from the cat I least expected, too, _Hailpaw mused.

Lilypaw told him everything: her two dreams, following Clawstorm, finding out about Darkfur. Hailpaw was transfixed on her story, his steady gaze never leaving her face, never rudely interrupting, and gasping about the part when she accidentally made herself seen.

" . . . And that's when I saw you," Lilypaw finished. The instant she was done Hailpaw screeched, "I _knew_ Clawstorm was disloyal! Never really trusted her, you know, because of her being part rogue."

"Yeah," Lilypaw agreed. "I don't think rogues should ever be trusted. And Clawstorm was never exactly nice, either." Suddenly, she just realized they were still in the stream, and that her paws were almost entirely frozen. "Hailpaw!" she yowled as she quickly ran to the sunbaked grass. "Our paws are going to come off!"

For a second, Hailpaw looked confused. Then he looked down at his paws. "Aaaah!" he yelled, jumping out of the freezing river. "I completely forgot about that!"

Laughing at their foolishness like old friends, Hailpaw and Lilypaw made their way back to camp. Lilypaw was surprised how easily she could talk with him, and how well they actually got along. Was this possible? Their fight seemed many moons away. Had it really happened? Lilypaw wasn't sure. But then again, she wasn't thinking properly now. Rather, she was noticing the way that the sun's rays made his fur a fluffy whitish, with his specks of gray dotting his pelt like rain-clouds . . .

Suddenly, Hailpaw unexpectedly stopped at the camp's entance. Lilypaw almost barreled into him. "What happened?" she asked, totally baffled at his action.

He turned to her carefully, looking at her with his gold fiery eyes. Lilypaw's breath cought in her thought as his eyes met hers. He appeared to be choosing his words cautiously. "Lilypaw," he meowed quietly, "I have something . . . important . . . to tell you."

Lilypaw's heart quickened its rate. Was he going to say what she thought he would say, and did she _want _him to say it?

* * *

**A/N: OK, not very good chappy, in my opinion... I have a fun question for you guys, though: Jugding by my writing style, how old do you think I am? Hehe, I'm going to have fun with this one...Review and tell me!**  



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